


Shadow Play

by Sleep_Deprived37



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura (Voltron) is So Done, Angst and Feels, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Coran Coran the gorgeous man! C'mon I had to, Eventual Happy Ending, Gen, Horror, Hurt Hunk (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Pidge | Katie Holt, Hurt Shiro (Voltron), I think I speak for all of us when I say we have all written a fic about a mission going wrong, I warned yah, I'm not tagging anymore cause it'll spoil it, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Let me just say that EVERYTHING is in here, Mild Gore, Mild Language, Missions Gone Wrong, Protective Keith (Voltron), Scary, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Shiro Has Nightmares (Voltron), Sorry for that one :(, Survival Horror, That's me!, This is nightmare fuel!, Torture, Violence, Yeah took me a while but I did it, also there is, am i right?, poor guy needs a break and I write THIS, this is actually pretty dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27495223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleep_Deprived37/pseuds/Sleep_Deprived37
Summary: Shiro knew something was wrong as soon as they stepped foot on Kripton.They all did.The leaders didn't want them to leave at all, looking to capture them for experiments. They managed to escape but found themselves seperated...And beinghunted.::This fic has art!::
Relationships: Hunk & Shiro (Voltron), Keef is on his own for dis one ;____;, Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt
Comments: 52
Kudos: 54





	1. Creature From Hell

**Author's Note:**

> Let me just say, this is freaken scary. 
> 
> That was a warning, to the stories dark plot.
> 
> Welp, hope you like it!!! :DD

This was wrong.

Or, at least _something_ was...

This _huge_ planet was barren, with nothing but black rocks all around, and dead tress with the color of a dark green. The aliens of this planet had blood red shells on their backs like turtles, but they themselves were purple. Their bodies were covered in shimmering scales that were sharp to the touch.

The trees covered Kripton, towering over the high tech city in a huge clearing accompanied by the very hard to miss sinister overhang of the deadly looking trees. Most of the cities buildings looked like factories, and prisons every alien dressed in some sort of lab coat accompanied by what looked like lab safety googles as well. The entire atmosphere felt wrong, it looked so wrong and sick but these aliens specialized in tech which is no doubt something they would need in the rebellion against Zarkon and his forces.

Even Allura and Coran didn't feel comfortable with the fact that they only wanted to speak to the paladins. Nor did they feel comfortable with leaving the Castle on the planet, thus why they are orbiting it with the excuse of extra protection just in case a cruiser or something showed up and attacked.

_"Something feels very wrong, are you sure you want to go through with this?" Allura asked Shiro, sharing his concerned look. The others wearing the exact same expression, no body commenting on how the Bridge was so tense._

_"I'm sure, we need this. The people of Kripton would be crucial in our fight against Zarkon. Whether we're comfortable or not, we need to do this." Shiro explained, gracefully dodging what the others were really getting at. They knew this planet was basically a huge lab, knowing Shiro they hesitated to even touch down on the planet._

_"I trust your decision, Shiro." Allura smiled and nodded her head as Shiro followed with the same expression and gesture as a way to show respect to one another._

_"Not going to lie, I feel uncomfortable with this to but if Shiro says it's okay, I'm okay with it." Hunk had joined in rasing his hand with a rather sheepish looking smile on his face, but other than that he didn't look scared._

The leaders had waited for them at their "Castle" which looked more like a huge lab of some sort. Much like everything else so it wasn't much of a surprise. Shiro couldn't help but keep getting shivers up his spine he felt violated. Like these aliens could see straight into his bones and mind, his posture said otherwise. Keeping calm was basically as he could do in this situation, especially since this could benefit the entire universe if the meeting goes well..

"Anybody else feel really uncomfortable? Cause I feel really uncomfortable..." Lance was the first one to say something after the silence between them. Hunk's very tense shoulders seemed to deflate as he was probably holding back so many worrying ramblings.

"Yes." Shiro responded first, making the others look at him with a wide eyed shocked expressions. Not expecting him to say anything first or, that response in that matter.

"You-" Lance froze, he bought up hus finger to point but Shiro politely interrupted him with, "In case something happens I've mapped out the planets surface we've covered already. I know our escape routes." Shiro shrugged, his expression was one that was bland and tired but he seemed to know what he was doing. It was at that moment that the paladins noticed that Shiro's eyes were subtly scanning the buildings around them, same with the people almost robotic like...

But it was Shiro, and they know he'd do anything to protect them, which at a lot of times is very, _very_ worrying.

"How? This area is huge! We haven't even reach this 'Castle' yet." Lance continued to protest, expressing his emotions through gestures of his flailing arms. 

"Focus, and it's Shiro. Now shut up, your voice is annoying." Keith annoyingly replied, glaring at Lance while crossing his arms in front of his chest. His back seemed to arch forward as his eyes narrowed, Lance had referenced Keith's actions to an angry old man of some sort. None of them understood why, but left Lance alone with it.

"How about you shut up, Mullet?!" 

"Not now Lance." Keith sighed dramatically recoiling from Lance when he tried to get into his face.

"Guys-"

"Not now my _ass_!" Lance yelled back, completely ignoring Shiro's bit of protest. Shiro seemed to slap his face and groan as the two continued to bicker like two idiots on a barren scary looking planet drawing attention to themselves.

"Guys! Enough!" Shiro raised his voice and stood in between the two, continuing with, "Keith, you stay on that side. Lance stay on this side." Shiro gestured for Keith to stay to his right with Lance on his left. They both seemed to look away in the opposite direction with no means as to say nothing. Which was good because they were coming up to the 'Castle' now.

Upon approaching the odd building, they say two figures standing outside at the supposed doors of this 'Castle'. No doubt, it was the Kripton king and queen. 

"Ah yes, the paladins of Voltron! The ever so mighty defenders of the universe!" The queen spoke first, clasping her 3-fingered hands together with a smile that looked a little crazed than kind. The clothes the king and queen wore were obviously different from that of those who were the lesser beings of the planet.

They wore what looked like fancy lab coats, with jewelry and lace that of the color of magenta. They had no such things as crowns, or symbols that they were the planet's leaders.

Shiro politely nodded his head with a smile followed by the others copying his gestures. The king and queen seemed pleased with that response.

"Why don't we give you a tour. Show you what we do." The king smiled, again with the more crazed look than kind. He and the queen shared an unreadable look then went on to leading the way inside. Shiro could already feel his heart beating faster and his breaths becoming faster as beads of sweat started to trickle down the side of his face. This went unnoticed, but Shiro knew that wasn't going to be for long. 

Curious, he payed a glance to the other paladins and could sense how uncomfortable they were, despite their expressions saying otherwise. The king and queen led them inside and to their surprise, it actually kinda looked like the inside of a Castle.

The king and queen led them down long halls describing how the this planet came to be. Stories of the hunger of wanting to know everything, dissecting and to no surprise bloodshed. Lots, and lots of bloodshed sent shivers down each of their spines. Until...

"How about we show you what we work for? I'm sure you'll find it interesting." The queen smiled, she and the king standing in front of what looked like a very fancy entrance to a basement. 

_Oh god..._

"That's very nice of you but-"

"If we were to join your coalition, you must learn more about us. Cause Black paladin...we know _everything_ about you." the king snarled, smiling with far too many teeth. Shiro had gotten the most chilling shiver down his spine, instinct was telling him to go, to get out of here and off this planet as fast as he possibly could. He couldn't leave, his comfort wasn't worth dozens of lives. So he closed his eyes and steeled his shoulders, re-opening them with narrowed precision. Ready to strike or run if needed, but the king and queen simply turned around and opened the doors to the basement.

And then they _heard_ it.

Cries and pained unnatural screams, the poorly lit corridor triggered too many things at once, Shiro could practically feel as his eyes unfocused and heard the other gasp in unison. His eyes refocused when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, he turned to see Keith with such a painfully concerned look on his face and in his eyes. Of course the others would be concerned over him about this, but he gave Keith and easy smile and a gentle nod of his head. Keith pulled his hand back but didn't let his expression falter in any way. The paladins all hesitated but followed the crazy king and queen down into the very terrifying sounding and looking basement.

Walking into this basement, the paladins were hit with the high smell of sweat and blood. There were chambers, some with a clear see-through containment walls and what they saw was horrifying. Different aliens with pieces of others sewed onto their bodies by force, covered in different brights shades of blood. With the amount of surgery needed for all of this must meant that they had others cleaning up dozens of gallons of blood at all times to keep the corridors this clean.

As they walked, more questions began to rise as their uneasiness only accelerated.

Why were the aliens of Kripton doing this? What was the purpose for all of this? What in the whole wide universe were they trying to portray? Was this a threat? If so, to whom? To the Galra? For all Shiro knew about his experience with them these people took body modification on another level. 

These were things that he couldn't tell the others of course, would they really want to hear about how the Galra had just torn open his stomach to see how his body worked? No. Did he want to get out of this basement and far away from this planet? Yes. Shiro was positive the others did too. He tried not to pay attention to any of the creatures he could see but one caught his eyes.

A small hunched over figure with mitch-match ears and an entirely different leg. With a prosthetic _eye._ One Shiro remembered taking from this alien... She looked at him with pure hatred sending knives to strike his eyes, wishing she had the chance to take his. Though her prosthetic eye was covered by her forest green hair it didn't make her glare seem any less sinister at all. Her lime green skin morphed into red as different rattlesnake like parts hissed in pure hatred. Shiro flinched and quickly tore his gaze away from the alien, out of the corner of his eye he could see her skin return to normal her gaze fazed on her prosthetic leg. 

Ultimately, Shiro did feel bad. In fact, he felt terrible for all of these aliens being held against their will here. He noted how he was already planning on ways to help them all escape which was bad in his situation right now. No doubt they'll be attacked if any of them try anything and he and the paladins would most likely not escape from the planet at all. There was a very low chance for that, but he had to ask...

"Why do you do this? With all do respect, this is cruel what you do to these people." Shiro's sympathetic expression was an extremely painful one to see to fully adapt onto his face. The king and queen stopped to look back at him while the paladins were staring at him with wide eyes, Lance being the most expressive about it. The king and queen shared a look with each other before smiling.

"It seems the Black Paladin doesn't understand our method of learning. Though you should be the the first one to understand..." The queen trailed off, Shiro narrowing his eyes again feeling the same chilling sensation down his straightened spine. She was right though, he did understand but these people should not be doing this. The Galra going through with this horrifying method was one thing, but the universe didn't need more of those kinds of people.

"How about we just skip to the dinner then." The king suggested, his smile sent out red flags to not touch the food at all. Whether any of them were hungry or not, next thing you know the food ends up being poisoned or a fresh heart from one of these aliens in this basement. Not going to take chances, especially when it involved the safety of his paladins. He already promised to Allura and himself that he would protect them at any time when he had the chance to do something, _anything._

Shiro absently nodded his head as the king and queen's smiles only grew, they passed the paladins to lead the way out. Shiro had the terrifying thought of just how many aliens were inside this "Castle". With how he's mapped out the place in his mind this basement is far bigger then anyone had led on. It could be even bigger than the estimate in his head, this facility is _underground._ For all he knows there could be endless tunnels of rooms for operations. Blood, and screaming the only thing to prod these lunatics to sleep.

Ignoring his gut and worrying thoughts he snapped himself out of it and kept his eyes trained on the backs of the king and queen. If they tried anything... Shiro's ready.

Walking to the dinning room was the most stressful walk the paladins have ever had. The only sounds were their echoing footsteps. Each one building more tension, but with what felt like forever it finally ended when they finally came to the dinning room. At least these doors looked welcoming and pleasant... The glow of the orange tech vaugely reminded the paladins of the Garrison, but it was different, it gave off an entirely different vibe.

One that carried _death_ with it.

The long rectangular table was one that was quite common upon seeing them on other planets, otherwise it didn't raise any questions. The king and queen had gestured to the table with all the same _damn_ smile on their faces, wanting the paladins to sit down first. Even if the gesture was seen as an act of respect it didn't stop Shiro from making sure the chairs had no sort of device that could cause harm. When he found nothing he hesitantly sat down, the others following after him once they saw there was no immediate danger. The king and queen followed to sit down, but their pointed stares were focused on Shiro. He didn't know why, but he kept his eyes narrowed and reflexes ready if something were to happen.

"The food will be brought out to us in a minute, I heard your Yellow paladin was interested in what our foods are like." The queen's sentence sounded painfully normal and humble, that didn't stop Hunk from going pale.

"Um...uhh-I...uhhh, I-I tha-ank you for the offer and all b-but-" Hunk stammered, eyes darting around the room with nervous precision. 

"Surely your still interested." The king pressed his eyes narrowed down on Hunk and he seemed to sink into the chair looking at Shiro to his left with pleading eyes.

"I think it'll be best if we just had the different ingredients, it's better to find out what they taste like ourselves isn't it? That's the art of cooking." Shiro slowly spoke picking his words as carefully as possible. He finished of with a shrug, and a sheepish smile on his face towards the king and queen. He doesn't know much about cooking or Hunk's godly methods of making everything so perfect, but he does know that the king and queen have no clue on how good he is in the kitchen. 

"Understood. Now about your coalition, what is our obligation if we join you." The king asked, his smile looked more inviting this time, but that didn't mean the paladins would drop their guard.

"Technology and knowledge. Your planet hasn't been attacked by the Galra, it's placement can be used track attacks and trafficking of prisoners. We've been keeping our eyes out for two specific ones." As Shiro confidently explained, he caught Pidge looking at him with wide teary eyes. He met her gaze with a hopeful look, Pidge hearing the unsaid, ' _We'll find them._ ' Despite the urge to cry, she smiled and Shiro gladly returned the smile.

"That is most strategic. Now, we want to know more about you paladins. On a rather personal level, where did you come from? And why is your leader's quintessence levels so high above your own?" The queen was the one who asked questions,and as the silence between them started another alien walked out from a side door bringing a tray of a wide variety of food. Nobody had barely noticed though, the queen's questions still ringing in their heads raising those of their own.

"Uhh...what?" Lance broke the silence not awknowleding the food that has been set out in front of him and the other paladins. His expression was sweetened with confusion and something that was shock.

"You did not know?" The king spoke, astonished at the paladin's surprise. Until both he and the queen's expressions darkened into a deep frown.

"Then we shall figure out why, if you don't mind." 

"What?! No! No, you are NOT doing that!" Keith was the first one to protest jumping up to his feet and slamming his newly found fists onto the table. The others finding themselves doing the same with similar acts of protest. Shiro the only one not standing, so he himself stood up and shook his hands.

"Woah, guys, hold on a minute. I never agreed to anything." Shiro hastily spoke, offering a nervous chuckle and smile. The paladins shared uneasy looks with each other, but Keith took the liberty of narrowing his eyes and glaring at Shiro. Who instantly got the message.

' _We can't trust them, let's go._ '

"Who said anything about giving you a choice?" The queen laughed, the more she continued the more crazed it got. She put her hand in her pocket most likely reaching for a weapon of some sort so Shiro immediately pulled up his shield the others following his movements with their bayards at the ready. The queen pulled out a gun, and aimed it straight for them but, that's not were the shot came from. Shiro's pointed glance found something coming straight for him looking to hit his head, with lightning speed he shifted to block the shot at the last second. The queen and king did not look happy.

"Follow, me and keep your shields up!" Shiro announced heading straight for the side door leading to the kitchen. The king also had a gun, and while their shots were very precise, the paladins deflected them with their shields with ease. The king and queen yelled out in such anger it made the walls shake. Running through the kitchen soundly dodging all of the cooks closely following after Shiro. Apparently he wasn't kidding when he said he was mapping out the entire Castle. As soon as they were in the kitchen, they were out in the hall from another entrance. Shiro and the others skidded out, Shiro the only one dropping his shield when seeing the upcoming guards.

Dashing out with his prosthetic ignited, he only lashed out at the guards to make them of out of the way with no intention of engaging in a fight. Right now they needed to focus on getting out of here. The guards moved out of the way not being idiots to actually engage in a fight with Shiro and the other right now.

Smart move.

The paladins continued to follow after Shiro with no question, knowing he was heading for the exit. They ran into a couple more guards on their way to the main room but they had all made the wise decision of just letting them dash by without getting into anything. Thankfully Shiro knew some shortcuts to get to the exit faster, they had finally made it to the main room panting and stopping when Shiro had stopped running. The paladins looked up and wished they hadn't, the king and queen alongside an armada of guards were standing at the doors.

They were prepared...

"Stop them."

Was all the queen had to say before their soldiers charged at them. Shiro didn't want to fight these people, but if it means getting his paladins out of here and off this planet safely he'll do what he has to. So he reignited his prosthetic arm and watched as the others activated their bayards. They knew what was coming. So they charged as well, who knew they would basically wage a war down here when all they wanted to do was form an alliance, guess that's what happens when your a defender of the universe in Space, huh.

As Shiro fended off his newly found enemies, he made sure to keep a close eye on the others to catch any off-guard attacks out of no where. Unfortunately he was paying a little too much attention to the others that he didn't see the guard with his spear raised aimed at him. He only knew when he shrieked in pain from feeling the spear impale him in his left side. With quick precision Shiro shoved the guard away from him before they had another chance to strike. With the precious moments he had to himself he clutched his side, slicing off part of the spear to better help with maneuvers and dodging.

"Shiro, are you okay?!" Keith called out from the other side of the room, Shiro didn't make the same mistake of paying way too much attention to the others, despite the clear urge to do so. Instead, the same guard that had attacked him now used his fists to fight Shiro. 

Bad choice.

He clearly didn't have much experience with it either, Shiro knocked him out cold with one hard hit to the head with his prosthetic.

"For now, yes!" Shiro called back, his answer was far more breathy than he wanted it to sound but with part of a spear in his side who in this crazy universe could blame him? Forgetting that, he settled for going over to attack the guards by the main exit doors. If they were going to get out of here, which they were, these guys needed to be disposed of.

* * *

"Coran, do you think they're alright down there?" Allura sighed, sitting down in front of the Teleduv control pillars with her mice in her lap. She was feeding them what Lance called ' _cheese_ ' the mice seemed to like it a whole lot. It had a weird tangy flavor to it, but it was a delightful substance none the less. Coran followed the gesture and sighed, moving from his station to sit next to Allura. One of the mice skittered up his shoulder making him smile and chuckle a bit.

"I'm sure they're alight princess. We just have to believe in them." Coran soothed, placing a gentle hand over Allura's tense one making her smile at him. 

"Your right, Coran. I do believe in them..." Allura trailed off, looking out into the vast windows of the Bridge. While she did believe in the paladins, it didn't stop her from worrying. The many times ground missions or coalition missions have gone wrong has greatly outnumbered the amount of them that went well. The feeling of worry in her gut was so over powering that all she wanted to do was get the paladins of that planet. None of them was comfortable with this, but this is what needed to be done.

Allura's thoughts were gracefully interrupted by a loud set of **_roars_** from the lions. Allura and Coran both jumped to their feet the mice scurrying up to their shoulders. The roars were ones of anger and worry, following by bangs shaking the walls of the Castle. Something was clearly wrong now, and the lions wanted to break from their hangers like caged animals.

"Oh no..." Allura breathed, looking at Coran with wide terrified eyes. The lions seemed to stop banging against their walls, and their startling roars of power. Coran dashed over to his station, trying to open a comm link to the paladins. It took him a couple of horrifying tries but he managed to open one up.

"Paladins! Are you-"

" _Coran, do **NOT** land the Castle. IT'S A TRAP-" _Shiro's voice was the first one to come through, bu the comm link was severed in what felt like a split second of time to speak. Coran turned to Allura who looked downright mad.

"I'm tired of this happening, I will not hesitate to destroy the planet this time if needed." Allura all but growled her response, steam blowing out of her elf like ears. The mice took refuge on Allura's head not wanting to suddenly be thrown off. Coran seemed to shrink a little, eyes going wide with his eyebrows blowing up high.

"P-Princess we can't do that! And we cannot bring the Castle in any closer having heard Number 1's warning." Coran quickly stuttered, making gestures with his hands and he continued to try and convince Allura not to straight up murder these people. Especially since that would never go unnoticed by anyone in this messed up universe. "Fine, then what do we do?" Allura responded, crossing her arms over her chest with a very mad glare on her face. Coran was mad too, but they wouldn't be able to do anything with 2 extremely mad people with a giant Castle ship with 4 mice and a cow. Someone needed sense in this situation.

"As Lance would say, all we _can_ do is sit ducks." Coran smiled behind his mustache, bringing up his hand to twist at the ends of it. Allura's only response was a long groan as she nearly deflated back to the ground in pure annoyance.

* * *

"Your ours now. I've heard of you humans... I heard you have lovely screams." The queen laughed, her pointed stare meeting the eyes of each paladin of whom she and the king had at bay. After a hearty fight, they were easily bought to their knees. Her sinister eyes were met with glares that carried far too many different meanings for her to understand. That only drove her urge to see how they work, what things trigger what who has deeper connections to who?

"Are you working for the Galra!?" Keith snarled, fighting against the hold that the guards had on him. The queen walked over to him and nealt down to meet him at eye level painfully just so out of his reach.

"No, Red paladin. Your quite the feisty one aren't you... Now lets see, your bound to have some interesting relationships with your team. If I had to guess, I'd say you care most about your leader here. It'd be a shame if he bled out, but we can't have that now can we."" The queen continued to smile, bringing up her finger to tap on her chin, though her smile went ear to ear when Keith seemed to freeze. The queen stood back up, and looked over when the king came back.

"Dear, I believe their ready to meet my most blood chilling accomplishment." The king took his place beside the queen, and the paladins could feel the guards tense up behind them. That's when Shiro took his chance and seized the moment. He wrenched his hands free having being successful from saving his energy for the right opportunity to come up and this was the time to use it to escape from these crazy aliens. Why did it have to always be crazy aliens? In the same swift movement he took out the guard with ease, the other paladins doing the same as the guards holding them were unsure what to do at that moment.

"RELEASE ZET 097-47!!" The queen yelled, the king scrambled to open the doors he entered from not too long ago, something from inside roaring a stimulating sound that made everyone freeze. The sound was like a mix between technology and an organic life form, but it was no doubt anything but normal at this point. The paladins each whipped their heads around to catch a glimpse at this creature, but all they saw was a atrociously sized shadow with glowing yellow eyes, and an oddly shaped body.

Every guard trying to fend off the paladins from escaping shrieked in horror and ran out the doors themselves leaving their weapons behind. Looks like whatever this thing was is very terrifying that even Kripton's own _guards_ ran off like cowards. That didn't stop Shiro from smiling though.

"Alright, let's go!" Shiro yelled out, a hint of a smirk on his face he and the paladins dashed out the main exit doors but almost fell over when large stampeding steps made the ground shake. The glimpse of this creature they saw in full color... nobody would be able to tell anyone anything about what this creature is or _was._ Other than that terrifying thought, it was huge. There was only one of it though, meaning it can't catch them all at once if they separated. It'd be even harder to find them in the forest, hoping that this thing has no way of hunting them down with precise estimates...

"Split up! We'll try to meet up with each other." Shiro called out to the others, adrenaline filling his veins making his injury almost completely gone. 

"No, I'm not leaving you! They'll be after you!" Keith yelled back, casting a quick glance down to the rest of the spear currently still in Shiro's side. There wasn't much blood gushing out, but removing that spear would mean he'd bleed out at extremely fast speeds. Shiro knew they'll come after him first, but he needs to know that the others are safe even when he's not.

"I'll be okay, now go!" Shiro smiled, then ran off in the opposite direction doing his best not to jostle his injury. He didn't miss Keith's look of remorse, but he and the others all ran off into the forest hoping Zet 097-47 doesn't catch them. The forest should hopefully be just enough to protect them until they had an actual plan to get off of this totally crazy planet alive. There were tons of things to worry about, like what exactly was in that forest? Please let it be nothing dangerous, or hostile... despite any pleads, there is no way the universe was going to listen to him at this point.

So he and the others kept running.


	2. Fatality In Deceivers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ::Implied references to acts of suicide (very small)::

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOT WOOT!!!
> 
> Sorry for the delay, but I was working on a Christmas special. If your looking for something sweet and fluffy, go and read that! Thank you for being patient, and tell me what you think of the story so far! :)

There was no strategy here.

That gives her basically nothing to work with. All Pidge was doing now was wandering this very eerie forest being as quiet as she possibly could to see if she could hear the others. While she knew she could try and contact the Castle, Pidge didn't know what Zet 097-47 could do. It could possibly track her down from picking up signal waves or whatever else it could use.

So in conclusion; this was bad.

Pidge had no way to try and find the others beside pure luck, she couldn't risk Zet 097-47 finding any of them. She didn't know enough to do anything at all. She sighed and picked her gaze up to glance around suddenly feeling eyes on the back of her neck with such percision she could feel little needles sticking into her skin.

But there was nothing there when Pidge bought up her hand to rub at the back of her neck. Her eyes widened and her breathing became a bit faster than it should ever be. Pidge didn't want to admit it, but yeah...

This forest was creepy as heck.

Pidge didn't have a set destination in mind, or any mental map of this place either but she had to find the others, or at least one of them. Being alone was not an option, she'll admit that it was wise of Shiro to split them up but it also left them vulnerable. None of them could've known what was in this forest but with such a sick atmosphere it had to be anything but good.

Oh _shit._

Shiro, he had literally been impaled with a freaking spear. All he did was cut off part of it and went straight back into fighting! Not to forget the king and queen showed a lot more interest in him than any of them. He was a target, and he was alone. They all were, but they needed to find each other before something else finds them.

For a horrifying second the ground beneath Pidge _shakes._ She freezes, feeling herself start to hyperventilate. No, not now, this can't happen now calm down. Listen closely, figure out what's making that noise, **_be silent._** Pidge listens to the voice in her head and focuses.

 _Thump_ , _**thump** , **thump** **.**_

Those are footsteps...

_Thump, **thump, thump.**_

Of something _big._

Without a second thought, her feet have minds of their own as she starts to run. The steps behind her seem to speed up, so she picks up her pace as fast as she can.

She can't be alone.

**It can hear her...**

* * *

"I'm okay...I just gotta find the others..." Hunk muttered to himself, his back curled over his front with nervous fingers figiting in place. He was frantically looking around the slightest of sounds making him jump with a yell. All he had to do was find his friends, re-group and kick some alien butt to get off this planet. Simple right?

"Why can't anything be simple in Space..."

Yeah, Hunk was finally starting to realize that nothing is ever easy in Space. He had no way to find the others, no way to contact the Castle, and no where to go. Hunk had been wandering around this dark...creepy, forest for about maybe 2 hours...? He wasn't entirely sure but he's positive he has a good grasp on things at this very terrifying moment.

No, now was not the time to be scared. His friends needed him, who knows... Zet 097-47 could've caught them already, and he could be the last one to be hunted down and _slaughtered_. Hunk could feel the beads of sweat trail down his forehead thinking of finding his friends dead at his feet, and blood...

_Blood **everywhere.**_

_"Where's grandpa? Why are there police here? Mama...?" Hunk asked, his mother and father had ushered him out of bed and into the car driving to his grandpa's house. He hadn't gotten a chance to change, he was told to just throw on a jacket and shoes._

_His parents didn't say anything but they were crying on the way there he only grew more worried seeing the police._

_Currently standing next to his mother, she looked down at him with tears in her eyes and simply hugged him, his father talking to a police man nearby came to join the hug. But Hunk still didn't know what happened, in a rush to know he broke free of his mother's and father's warm embrace and ran past the police into his grandpa's house._

_Hunk ignored the calls of his parents and went straight into the living room to see-_

_"He's gone...stabbed straight through the heart."_

_That's when Hunk stopped dead in his tracks, breathing picking up slowly stepping into the living room finding thousands of tiny shards of broken glass on the floor and the police standing over..._

_"Grandpa!"_

_Hunk yelled, feeling the tears spill over his eyes, realizing what had happened, noticing the blood smeared on the floor, walls and now on his shoes. He felt sick, he wanted to run but his parents had caught up to him and hugged him so tight mumering apologises to him. He cried, and hugged his parents back as he was turned away from his grandfather's body he saw something on the stairs._

_A figure._

_Covered in blood, his grandfather's blood..._

_Knowing what they did they simply smiled and ran upstairs the police noticing him after a moment following closely behind. The horror finally settled in, and Hunk spared one last sad glance over to his grandfather who had been brutally murdered by whatever monster Hunk saw on the stairs._

Hunk hadn't realized he stopped moving until he heard a snap of a twig and a gasp pain. He snapped his head up with wide teary eyes realizing that he had started crying. He quickly wiped at his eyes and ran over to where he heard the noise from. To be safe, he peered from behind a tree when he heard another gasp. There was a small clearing here, and-

"Shiro!"

Shiro looked up so fast Hunk was afraid he would get whiplash, but he looked absolutly _terrified._ It was an expression Hunk never wanted to see on anyone's face, let alone Shiro's.

"Are you okay? Sorry for scaring you." Hunk dashed over, Shiro seemed to be stuck in some black bramble trapping, and pinning him so he couldn't move. This bramble didn't seem alive, which didn't make sense.

"I'm fine, but Hunk I am _so_ glad to see you." Shiro sighed in relief, Hunk already getting to work on freeing him but he froze. Shiro didn't sound right... But that was something he couldn't worry about right now, at the moment he needed to help his friend. So he ignored his alarm and got back to work.

"Me too, how'd this happen?" Hunk asked, though it was harder to do than it sounded his heart was pounding in his chest his body trying to stop him from talking trying to keep his mouth shut. 

"I had a run in with Zet 097-47..." Shiro admitted, getting back up onto his feet when Hunk released him ignoring the hand Hunk had out for him. Shiro's expression was one that was basically unreadable, almost blank if not for his eyes that looked entirely _wrong._

"Okay, now we need to find the others and get off this freaky planet." Hunk smiled cheerful to see if the cloudiness in Shiro's eyes would clear up. It did nothing, Shiro did however give him a very small smile but otherwise wlaked passed him in the opposite direction.

That's when Hunk saw it.

"Shiro...what happened to that spear you had in your side?" Hunk stopped dead in his tracks, pure horror om his face Shiro didn't have a single scratch on him and suddenly his uneasy auroa got even stronger... Shiro's auroa was always pleasant and inviting, kind, protective, safe... but now it was dark, shady, and _dangerous._

Shiro also seemed to freeze and tense up for a couple of stressful seconds until he turned around with a warm smile on his face. It wasn't the same, its didn't _feel_ the same at all. That was scary, and terrifying, Hunk had no clue what to do at this moment what to think but stand here and just let it play out.

"What spear? Hunk your probably just stressed, how about we just go find the others." Shiro took the liberty of steeping closer to Hunk, or close enough to place both his hands on Hunk's tense shoulders. He didn't let him, he pulled back and took several speedy steps back from Shiro who looked surprised by the action.

Hunk found himself asking what the hell would Keith do in this situation. He didn't know why he was thinking about Keith, but he just went with whatever his frantic mind could muster up. He was pretty much desperate at this moment. 

"Your not Shiro..." Hunk tested the bitter sentence in his mouth and it tasted like salt on his tounge but it didn't hurt to say it. 

He was right.

Shiro stopped for a couple of seconds before his face _molded_ allowing him to smile ear to ear, causing blood to spill out of his mouth at the unnatural angle. "So you figured me out, delightful." Not-Shiro spoke somehow useing his voice made it ten times more sinister with the dripping blood down what was his white paladin armour.

"Where's the real Shiro." Hunk chose his words carefully tracking not-Shiro's movements as he took a step foward towards Hunk. 

"I can't tell you, but I promise you'll see him again." Not-Shiro hadn't dropped his smile, and he hadn't made any moves to attack Hunk but that somehow made everything more terrifying than it already was. Hunk didn't know what to say to that, but he did watch as not-Shiro's body _broke_ and morphed into a huge figure the armour falling and cracking apart falling like litter to the black forest floor. 

The figure towered over Hunk's form and he watched as a long metal tail appeared, a face with sharp teeth like one's of a shark. The claws that formed over it's mouth were also metal reminding Hunk of an insect somehow. Zet 097-47 had a large long body at least as tall as a school bus but it's body...

Was a mix between metal and organic pieces, but they weren't sewn on, they were _burned_ on. Hunk was suddenly feeling bad for this creature, but he didn't have a chance to try for a another thought as Zet 097-47 brought down it's giant paw to bat Hunk down to the ground.

Hunk's world flashed white, but then straight to black without wasting another second he lost his consciousness.

* * *

Lance was having a great time.

Thinking back to the funniest memes he'd find, to his family even making himself laugh a bit. Of course, he knows he should be worried, but everything was going to be fine, it always ends up that way.

Got a new mission, maybe run into some conflict, solve it, get away maybe not all un-injured but everything was fine in the end. Why should this be any different? He couldn't shake the feeling that things were going to be different after they get off this planet. His weak smile dropped from his face into a deep worrying frown, yeah he probably shouldn't have ignored how bad this was...

He hugs hinself, silently hoping someone would just wlak on by and say hey. Heck, even Keith would make things ten times better right now.

Lance didn't know being alone could feel so... _lonely._

While he knew it didn't quite make sense in his head, that's what it felt like. This forest gave of some sort of energy...pulling out his darkest moments from the very bottom of his mind.

_"Lance, why would you do this?"_

_"I don't know! Mama, I don't k-know..."_ _Lance stuttered, scrambling over to his mother with open arms ignoring how blood dripped off his wrists. He was only seven...and he had done this to himself._

_"Don't worry chico, everything will be okay..." His mother told him father and siblings surrounding him in worry._

Lance snapped out of the sudden flash back and found himself pulling off his gloves to stare at the scars on his right wrist. Now looking down at them in shame and sorrow feeling waves of the same feeling come rushing back. Despair... Loss...and

_pain._

So much pain...

"Why..." Lance took in a shaky breath exhaling it into a sob, fresh hot tears spilling out over his eyes. He felt his knees give out under him, crashing into the unforgiving black barren ground seeing traces of a sick sand blow in the air as he impacted. He knew he needed to keep moving and find his friends but he couldn't stop the tears from gushing out, so he curled over himself and continued to cry.

Not sure of how long has past, Lance did his best to wipe the tears away from his face he felt his own eyes grow dim. 

Ignoring the swarming thoughts and pull of the ground to just stay here and die, he pushed himself back up to his shaky feet looking up at the sky. The atmosphere was so thick you couldn't see any stars... Just deep dark clouds. Something about this planet was going to make each of them just _break_ in some way.

Lance smiled.

A bitter sweet smile, one that tasted so familier yet so far away from what he was used to...and he walked. He wasn't sure where he was going, and he knew for a fact the others didn't either. That was okay, cause everything would be okay.

Right...?

* * *

Why is it so dark?

Why...can he feel metal and hear _screaming._

...

Oh right...

This place again.

* * *

She's been running for at least an hour now. No sign of anyone. Pidge stopped and hunched over, her heavy breaths trying to stabilize her breathing again. Her hand automatically went up to wipe at the sheen of sweat on her forehead silently wishing that the emergency water packet they all had in their suits wasn't warm.

Pidge pulled it out and took a desperate couple of sips just enough to hydrate herself. Okay, so whatever was in this forest stopped following her and that was a good thing...but she still couldn't stand being alone at this moment.

If some miracle were to happen, please let one happen now by helping her find someone, _anyone._

Just like that-

She heard footsteps behind her, she froze and listened unable to move if it was something dangerous. The footsteps sounded too light to be whatever it was that was chasing her earlier, and it definietly wasn't Zet 097-47... So who was it?

"Pidge?"

"Lance!" Pidge snapped her head to look behind her seeing Lance standing there with a small hopeful smile on his face. Ignoring the dark look in his eyes Pidge ran over and hugged him, Lance tensed but hugged her back after a moment.

"You don't normally give me hugs..." Lance softly chuckled, he sounded really tired and just sad. Pidge let go of Lance but didn't push him away, she looked up into his eyes and saw a very deep abyss.

"Lance, are you okay?" Pidge hesitantly asked, unsure of what to do at the moment when her mind was still on edge and so disoriented. Lance didn't answer, but he took a deep breathe in and let it out in a long shaky sigh. "No...but we need to keep moving." Lance looked Pidge in her eyes and saw very clear worry, why did this have to happen now.

"Lance-"

" _Please."_ Lance pleaded, feeling tears build up behind his eyes again. Pidge jumped at that but silently nodded her head, she moved closer to Lance and gave him a side hug the two continuing to walk this time in a different direction. Pidge noticed Lance rubbing around his right wrist but otherwise left him alone about it, planning to ask what happened later.

_**In silence...we see the worst in people. In death...we see sorrow.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, you don't know how long I've wanted to write this chapter man. Every time I go to work with the Christmas special I always think of this and- 
> 
> Yeah, it was frustrating but I CAN FINALLY WRITE IT, YASSSSS!!!
> 
> Edit: Yeah, this is a long while after I wrote that last note. I didn't get any sleep last night and I don't plan to get any this night either. Welp, let's get to writing...
> 
> Edit: It's finished and short, but I think the emotions packed into this chapter make up for it really sorry for the delay, I haven't been in a good place recently. :(


	3. Behind Barriers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Several aspects of this story is paying tribute to my first fanfiction on here "Adaptations" it has been deleted, but try to guess...what details did I pull from it? :)
> 
> Oh, and the art in this chapter was done by a really close friend of mine, Blood_Flow! He's not on Ao3 if anyone was wondering oof.

Ow.

That hurt.

Hunk's foggy head finally started to clear up a bit, he remembered Zet 097-47 knocking him out. Definitely not forgetting how it look the form of Shiro, speaking of which he hoped was okay. Cause that was extremely terrifying, he hopes he will never have to see that sinister smile or the blood willingly spilling out of it's mouth it was too much. Other senses were coming back to him, it felt like he had drowned and was starting to float back up to the surface. 

He could feel himself being dragged somewhere by unknown people, for a very hopeful seconed he had hope in the thought that his friends had found him, or maybe the real Shiro had. Unfortunately, nothing is fair in this world.

"Wake up." Hunk wasn't sure who said that, but it definitely wasn't a voice he recognized. He knew they weren't friendly already, but when pain blossomed in his side from a kick from a metal boot, his theory was confirmed. Hunk's eyes snapped open on instinct desperately wishing he had just listened to his gut and kept them closed for the sake of his sanity. 

What he saw, was something he couldn't oversee. It was the creepy underground basement of the Kripton rulers. You know, the one with unknown numbers of aliens trapped down here for life.

Yeah...that one.

Hunk could feel the fear and panic rise inside him quickly breaking out of the guard's grip on him, and did his best to just get away. He wasn't fast enough, until one of them got handy with their gun. He took the shot and Hunk suddenly found himself toppling over to the ground the impact causing him to cry out and close his eyes trying to make the pain go away.

"Not so mighty now, are you paladin." One guard chuckled, Hunk feeling himself being dragged again, trying not to scream as the movement jostled the newly found hole in his left leg. He didn't want to open his eyes again, but he felt a couple of tears escape from his eyes in immense pain. Hunk didn't have to worry for too long as he wasn't being dragged anymore, the small blessings as the pain wasn't so bad.

"You have a cellmate... Lucky you." That's when Hunk snapped his eyes open wide. A cellmate!? What kinda lunatic was in there?! He's gonna die, ohgodohgodohgodohgod!!! Hunk's mind kicked into overdrive, the fear of dying so close now in realization there was people he was never going to see again, his family his friends, oh man, who was going to pilot Yellow!?

"W-wait, guys we can talk about this c-can't we? You don't have to do this!" Hunk stammered, the guards opened the pitch black cell and were careless when it came to nearly throwing him in there with unforgettable sinister laughs. Hunk scrambled for the door, but the guards shut him in. He couldn't see anything in here, more importantly who was his cell-mate?

As if they were answering his question, Hunk heard chains rattling against the burnt orange colored ground. He yelped and pushed himself up against the wall in fear. His breathing sped up, adrenaline pumping through his veins ready to fight if needed. Even with his hands bound with metal cuffs, he could still do damage just depends on who this person- alien is. Hunk was really hoping they were friendly cause his leg hurt like hell and his head is bleeding pretty bad, then again head injuries tend to bleed the most...

The chains rattled again, Hunk felt compelled to speak to this being, they couldn't see each other but Hunk could feel the tense nervous energy just floating around in the air making it all the more harder to breathe. So he took a deep breath in, and tried to make peace also hoping this guy didn't want to kill him.

"H-hello...? Who-"

Without any sort of warning, or heads up the cell lit up in a deep dark orange hue Hunk closing his eyes on instinct now realizing his cell-mate could see him. Oh god, he wasn't sure he wanted to know who or _what_ it was that was here with him. He just wanted to go back to the Castle, bake some cookies and maybe even a cake or just something to calm his nerves. But no, now he was trapped here and-

"Hunk..." 

Hunk snapped his eyes open and whipped his head up at the familiar voice and saw _Shiro..._ chained up to the wall behind him with a massive chain link around his neck, followed by both his wrists and ankles. He looked exhausted, but Hunk drew his attention to Shiro's side approximately right where the rest of the spear should be but it was gone, and his side had been carelessly bandaged up it looked as though no effort was made into it because blood was still visible. It wasn't seeping out, but it would if the wound was any bigger. More importantly, Shiro's response came out breathy and tired...

Hunk's expression easily went straight from horrified and scared, to concerned and worried over his friend.

Shiro stared back at him with an unreadable expression, but that didn't stop Hunk from moving over to him since he knew Shiro couldn't move over to him from his spot. Hunk settled on the right side of him, feeling the sudden relief and the safe aura that Shiro always gives off, no matter how bad this entire situation is. He was careful to sit to Shiro's right being sure not to make the pain on his left any worse.

There was a silence between them for a moment, but that didn't stop Hunk from getting the lonely feeling the hell out of this cell.

"How did you get here...? I mean, I know you were captured but- like, how did it happen? You don't have to tell me, should I even want to know? I-"

"Hunk-"

"I know it had to be bad, and you know I would love to re-wrap that for you if I had some more bandages, but then again blood makes me nervous and that looks like a lot of blood-"

"Hu-"

"I'm sorry, you got stuck with me of all people. I'm not good with this, I mean I'm glad to see your alive but I can't do anything for you right now..." Hunk looked down to his cuffed hands then looked to Shiro's chained ones. He sighed and did his best to scrub a hand over his face. 

"Hunk, don't say sorry for that. I'm actually really glad I'm trapped with you here but that doesn't put you out of danger..." Shiro responded, placing his prosthetic hand over Hunk's nervous frantic one. Hunk stopped and looked at him, this is what Shiro felt...? This was something for a discussion later, being in danger right now was very true. "And, I may or may not have been shot with a tranquilizer dart..." Shiro sheepishly added, Hunk gawked at him with wide eyes.

"Really?" Hunk pressed, while he knew Shiro tended to get into trouble he'd like to believe he was nearly invincible. He's heard a lot of stories, but a dart was never one that crossed his mind though. The Galra have used guns, and other aliens with unique weapons but he hasn't heard of any using darts at all. "Yeah, got me right on my neck somehow. I've already tried to escape several different times... which is why the left me like this." Shiro shrugged, gesturing to himself and the chains that he had been bound with. Hunk now realizing that they _broke_ away the collar of the paladin armour just to get the giant metal chain link on him instead. He knew that Shiro wasn't exactly up for one of those talks, but the cell was still so dark, even with the dim lights.

That needed to change.

"We'll get out of here, _I'll_ get you out of here. I promise." Hunk vowed, okay so maybe he was being a bit protective but he knows he has to do that sometimes. Shiro smiled at him, such a kind warm smile Hunk immediately getting the message. ' _I know you will.'_

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Hunk gently rested his head on Shiro's shoulder, feeling a smile come onto his face when Shiro didn't pull away. Hunk sighed letting some of the tension bleed away from his body. Of course it just had to come back when they heard voices speaking outside the cell.

"-which one again?"

"Black paladin. You can't miss him."

Hunk's heart iced over, and went cold. Shiro didn't share his look of horror as he looked determined and ready for whatever this universe was going to throw at him.

The doors that just had to be made out of pure iron, opened with bright lights shining through. Hunk flinched back automatically but Shiro didn't seem to move at all. He was still staring down knives into the guards eyes. If only he was able to move around he could jump these two, and rip their throats to shreds.

The guards approached them, once they were close enough the pushed Hunk away causing him to scream in agony as his leg had been jostled.

"Hunk!" Shiro called out, panic and fear rising in him. Hunk heard but couldn't respond, feeling a few stray tears of pain roll down his cheeks as he clenched his jaw together with all of his might and willpower. The guards infront of Shiro went to disconnect the metal collar from the wall needing to move him. They were foolish and arrogant enough not to keep a gun trained on him.

Shiro growled as a warning, he will not hesitate to attack at all. Hunk's eyes widened at this, Shiro looked absolutely feral with his teeth bared. He never expected that from him, Shiro had literally growled. Hunk never new he could sound so...

_In-human._

"Aww, is that supposed to scare me? Please, save me the trouble paladin." The guard teased, his that damn smile was so arrogant and Shiro was ready for it.

As soon as the guard's hand got close enough Shiro surged forward without warning and _bit_ down as hard as he could with his teeth. He learned that certain parts of these people were not covered in sharp scales, leaving them vulnerable to attacks at times. The guard shrieked and tried to wrench his hand away but Shiro kept his grip as he shifted and _ripped off_ part of the guards skin spitting it aside. The raw taste of copper in his mouth was familiar but that thought didn't get too far. 

The guard fell to the floor clutching his hand with tears of pain. Shiro smiling a sinister smile that gave off an eerie feeling down Hunk's spine. He watched as blood spilled down the side of Shiro's mouth, thankfully not blood of his own. The crimson liquid dripped to the floor, and Shiro kept the same smile on his face.

"I warned you..." Was all Shiro said, with a dark chuckle revealing his blood stained teeth. This sent off red flags in Hunk's head, realizing just how shaky Shiro's pupils were. Hunk wasn't sure if this was part of a flashback but as much as he wanted to help. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't take on these guards alone, even if they did manage how were they going to escape?

This place seemed to be built like a fortress, most likely flushed with guards now that they have not one, but _two_ paladins in their custody. There was millions and billions of things that couod go wrong at this point, they could be held for ransom, die, go insane, get experimented on, and the list could go on for hours.

Hunk let his worrying get to him, but snapped up when he saw the guard infront of Shiro fumble for something on his belt. He pulled out a taser and jammed it into Shiro's injured side, and Hunk didn't miss the way Shiro's pupils returned back to normal in a split second.

It was the way Shiro _screamed_ that bought tears to Hunk's eyes though.

The horrifying sound coming out strangled and painful for anyone to listen too. Shiro's screams was deemed the most haunting sound any of them could ever hear. Shiro's side felt like it had just been lit on fire. The pain was so excruciating to the point where he could hardly hear his own screams from the ringing of death in his ears.

He could practically feel Hunk's look of horror and worry trained on his face of pain. That's what scared Shiro the most right now, Hunk had to sit here and do nothing as he screams, coming to no avail as he tried to hold it back. When all of this is over, he'll be sure to apologize to him, because the poor kid has a high chance of being traumatized and it would be Shiro's fault, he couldn't let that go without saying anything. 

The world around him seemed to tilt, as the guard pulled back his taser after a couple of seconds but it felt like several hours for both Hunk and himself. Shiro felt his body hit the cold unforgiving floor, tremors that were not from cold making his form shake and his muscles sore. He couldn't look up and see the horrible look on Hunk's face, he didn't want to feel that wave of guilt right now. He and the rest of his team is in danger, and he promises to get them all out _alive_ no matter what it takes. He's getting out of here, with everyone of his paladins, his family. 

"And we warned you. Now look at you, a shaking heap on the floor and at our mercy." The guard nealt down infront of Shiro and simply smiled, as much as he wanted to snap back somehow that really hurt...

"Leave him alone!" Hunk shouted, he wasn't sure what he was going to do about these guards but this seemed like the right thing in the heat of the moment. He kept his expression fierce and fearless as he did know his heart was racing faster than he's ever felt it. The guard turned to him, the other one left to receive medical attention for his hand which was brutally bleeding all over the place. 

"Or what? You can't do anything to me." The guard laughed, turning his attention back to Shiro as he kicked him in the stomach resulting in a grunt of pain. Something in Hunk just snapped, the cell was small enough for him to lunge at the guard. He pushed himself from the wall completely ignoring how his leg throbbed and begged him to stop as he headbutted the guard with a vicious yell of anger. While this was more of Keith's thing Hunk was sure he wouldn't mind taking a bit of inspiration from him. The guard yelped and smashed his back into the wall, quickly taking his exit saying something about how vicious these paladins were.

Hunk on the other hand, crashed into the ground thankfully not on his injured leg. He grunted on impact and was quick to sit back up and scramble over to Shiro who's eyes were barely even open anymore.

"Y-your brave...you know that?" Shiro smiled, he looked so proud and that made his heart melt despite the strong urge to cry t the moment. Hunk stayed quiet and continued to listen watching Shiro's eyes start to flutter. "I'm...gonna..." Shiro trailed off, not getting the chance to finish as his eyes finally closed. While Hunk knew this was going to happen it didn't stop him from worrying. Only he know had to worry for himself as a white gas of some sort came rushing in through opened vents in the ceiling. A beam of hope showered over Hunk thinking they could escape, but the vent was way to small for anyone to go through.

More importantly he started coughing feeling his mind grow foggy. Hunk felt himself double over and topple to the ground his eyes closing. The last thing he saw before everything went black again, was Shiro.

* * *

He could handle this.

All he had to do was get out of this creepy forest, or try and find the others. Kripton's sun was starting to set, so that was wonderful. Keith kept hearing... _sounds..._

Sounds of snapping branches, or things skittering around. Who knew what kind of loose experiments or literal demons these people had running around. All he could do was frantically look around hoping not to see anything, yet he wanted to know what was out there. He needed to know, walking around with a sword swinging at random things wasn't exactly efficient. Up until he heard someone scream. This was his first real lead, he perked his head up to properly hear where the sound was coming from then he ran towards it.

Driving through black bushes and pushing off tree trunks allowed him extra momentum as he continued to dash over to the source. Thankfully, the screaming didn't sound like Shiro or anyone else so his nerves dialed down a bit. The screaming seemed like it was getting louder, and louder, Keith realizing how it sounded like a young girl. The closer he got, the more odd it sounded and the more the uneasiness in chest rose up to unbelievable heights of terror. Before rounding the tree to reveal his destination, he stopped and he waited. 

He peered his head around to look and let his cautious eye narrow with enough daggers to take note of everything. What he saw was yes, a little Kripton girl with her foot caught in some sort of black root. She screamed again, and Keith watched as tears streamed down her dirty face. Keith sighed and thought about his decision before stepping out with his hands up as if he was approaching a scared animal of some sort. This alien had no scales on her body as it was something that comes in adult years of life. She was wearing a very light pink dress with black leggings of some sort. She looked terrified when she finally seemed to notice Keith.

"Hey, hey, it's okay I'm not going to hurt you...I just wanna help." Keith soothed, the girl seemed to calm down but something didn't feel right out her. Keith nealt down beside her and cut away the black root and she quickly stood up and took several speedy steps back away from him. "Your Keith, the red paladin." The girl spoke, Keith getting a chill up his spine, one he didn't even want to try and ignore. Keith narrowed his eyes again and stepped away from the girl who _looked_ entirely innocent.

"I don't know how you did it, but I know your Zet 097-47." Keith tested, pulling out his bayard again and pushing himself into a fighting stance. He didn't actually have to beat this thing, just by himself enough time and wait for a chance to get away.

The girl's expression twisted into one that was villainous, allowing herself to chuckle and shake her head. 

"I wish you weren't so smart." The girl's body morphed back into Zet 097-47's dangerous form. Keith expected this but he still let his eyes widen in both fear and shock. Zet 097-47 came down with a bat of it's paw, Keith with his expert form dodged easily to the side not giving it a chance to go after him again he got straight to the point when aiming to cut it's paw as deep as he could. He dashed over with a yell and slashed down a shriek of sin coming from the beast of death.

Keith tried to roll out of the way when it's long tail made for a swing at him. He wasn't fast enough resulting in him getting thrown back at least 20 feet feeling his back collide with a tree. He felt himself fall to the floor in unbearable amounts of pain, Keith opened one eye the other holding his wince when he noticed Zet 097-47 began approaching him. It looked so... _arrogant._

Bathing in all it's glory taking the last few steps in order to end his life, a crowed cheers from an unknown place. That's when Keith realized...

He can _hear_ the screams of this crowed, he can _feel_ Zet 097-47's power. 

Keith's will allowed him to jump to his feet prepared to run when this monster tries anything.

_"He's gone...I'm sorry."_

Keith screamed, dropping his bayard and clutching his hair flashes of a memory climbing it's way back up to the surface when he tried to bury it so deep into the ocean of blood and unforgiving things. He could see it...

**_Pilot error._ **

He could feel the pain again.

_"Shirogane is gone, you have to accept that!"_

"NO! GET OUT, OF MY HEAD!!" Keith yelled again, shaking his head in a frantic matter he could feel Zet 097-47 just standing there, watching him break into millions and billions of pieces. The memories of crying for hours, and hours on end were all coming back. "G-get out of my head..." Keith sobbed, hot tears streaming down his face. He dropped to his knees feeling the same feelings again. Failure, sorrow... _anger... **fear.**_

_**A L O N E** _

But then, in his mind a big sticky note had been pinned to the board of which held his surfaced thoights and memories. Surrounded by flames of the very same emotions he had. The flames died, and then the atmosphere lit up in a dim purple light.

On that sticky note it read...

' _Shiro is alive. Don't let this monster get to you._ '

Keith felt himself snap up, brining his heavy heart up to his feet facing Zet 097-47 with no fear.

"You can't do this... I won't let you break me!" Keith powered, taking his mind back seemingly sending shockwaves into Zet 097-487's messed up mind. The monster howled in pain staggering back from Keith, and that's when he made a run for it. Dashing into a completely different direction of which he came, being sure to run in zig zag patterns around trees and bushes still hearing the horrifying sound of the beast behind him.

He couldn't stop running, he needed to get as far away as possible. So Keith pushed his limits feeling a boost of speed in his legs desperatly hoping not to trip on something. Though as much as he wanted to keep going, using the adrenaline as a pain killer for his back he needed to stop now.

Keith doubled over catching himself on a nearby tree, panting heavily desperatly trying to regain his breath. After a while he wiped at the sweat on his forehead. He looked down and found some blood on his palm taking it in but not quite worrying.

What he knew now was far more important than any injury at the moment, while he still worried for the others this could save them.

How to beat Zet 097-47.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, and yeah this is going to be a wild ending with a lot of fluff. Thank you for supporting me as well, I really appreciate it even in my darkest moments. This is my favorite chapter so far, I think I structured this one way better than I did the last. As I said in the last chapter, I was not in a good place. The feelings are still there but the emotions I pack into this fic are ones I've felt which is why it's so detailed.
> 
> Kinda my way of venting cause I was never one to ask for help.
> 
> I truly love you guys!!! 🖤❤💙💛💚

**Author's Note:**

> What the heck.
> 
> Why was this something that I came up with.
> 
> W H Y.
> 
> I don't know, but thanks for reading and I really hope you stay tuned, cause it's only getting worse from here. Do you like this? Please let me know.  
> Oh, and email me if you have any questions or concerns about my mental health. 
> 
> You wouldn't be the only one concerned, trust me. ;____________;


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